On Wed, Dec 1, 2010 at 12:08 PM, Jonathan B Bayer <[email protected]> wrote: > Current setup: > > 1 gigabit switch connecting WAN (Internet) with routers. This > switch is unmanaged. This switch has 4 cables connected. > > 1 gigabit switch for internal switching, with two VLANS. This > is a managed switch. VLAN 1 has about 6 cables, VLAN 2 has 3 > cables > > Both switches are 24 port, although neither is even close to full. > > 1. How would you go about setting up the network, given what I've > listed above?
Are you sure you need Gigabit? I'd be surprised if your Internet uplink was that big and most clients won't use more than a few MB. You might be able to save a bundle if you can survive with 10/100 ports. > 2. Would it make sense to do my second idea of a single, powerful > switch with 3 VLANS? Yes. The internal forwarding on most switches is much faster than individual ports, so by putting as many connections as possible on a single switch could improve performance. > 3. I'm not familiar with the current Cisco switches; my last > experience with Cisco was about 5 years ago. Which switch(s) would > you use? Do you need the switch do any kind of routing between VLANs? I'll assume not since you mention routers. You want to look at the Cisco 2960; probably Lan Lite unless you need advanced QoS or security features. A 2960-48TC-S should be about $1500. (But the 2950 is just as good and you should be able to get one used.) I recommend the TC unless you know you will never need a fiber uplink, then the TT model might save you a few bucks. http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6406/prod_models_comparison.html And, of course, Cisco isn't the only option (just the one I'm familiar with). HP also makes some pretty good kit, so I've heard. Just don't go for cheap switches. I once had the misfortune of working with a Managed NetGear switch that /claimed/ to support all the features I needed. It didn't and it was prone to overheating (failing) under even reasonable load. -- Perfection is just a word I use occasionally with mustard. --Atom Powers-- _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] https://lists.lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
